Is it illegal to photograph on the street? Nick Turpin Martin Parr and Mickey Osterreicher speak up in a brilliant piece by Olivier Laurent. In Paris, arguably the birthplace of street photography, it is getting extremely difficult to photograph people. Confusion over Franceâ€™s strict privacy laws has made it harder for street photographers to work in the tradition of legends like Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I have always believed that once one steps into the public arena, one's privacy is forfeit. This is particularly true today where so many of our cities are peppered with CCTV cameras. Perhaps that is a major reason why people have become so suspicious of photographers or hostile towards them (us); it is easier to vent one's ire upon another citizen with a camera, than against the faceless governments or corporations that oppress us all.
On the other hand, not everyone in public places is in a position to object to being photographed. For many, the street IS their home: the marginalised and disenfranchised victims of social policy are easy pickings for those with Cartier-Bresson leanings. You only have to look at the pool of any of the street photography groups on Flickr to see how many 'photographers' are exploiting that vulnerability in the name of social commentary that is rarely any more than a cop out. Most of the rest are shooting from the hip, which has all the honesty of a CCTV camera.
It seems that, more than ever, when shooting people in public, the photographer needs two things to succeed: circumspection, and a big pair of brass balls! Sorry, that's three things.